Whereas England is only represented
by one member for every 75,000 of population, and Scotland by one for
every 65,000, Ireland has a member for every 42,000 of her people. With
a population below that of Scotland, Ireland has 31 more members in the
House of Commons, and 89 more than she could claim on a basis of
representation strictly proportionate to population in the United
Kingdom.
Speaking in Dublin on the 1st of July, 1915, the late Mr. John Redmond
gave the following description of the present condition of Ireland,
which offers a striking contrast to the extravagant declamation that
represents that country as downtrodden by a harsh and unsympathetic
system of government:
"To-day," he said, "the people, broadly speaking, own the soil.
To-day the labourers live in decent habitations. To-day there is
absolute freedom in local government and local taxation of the
country. To-day we have the widest parliamentary and municipal
franchise. The congested districts, the scene of some of the most
awful horrors of the old famine days, have been transformed.
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